Marcus Rashford Names the most Talented player in the Aston Villa squad, its not Ollie Watkins or Marcus Asensio

Marcus Rashford did not mention Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk or Mohamed Salah when naming the ‘best player in the Premier League’.

Rashford, 27, revealed his pick when speaking to former Manchester United captain Gary Neville on The Overlap in July 2023.

The United academy graduate, who is currently on loan at Aston Villa, answered 30 quick-fire questions put to him by Neville, 50.

Among these were questions about his favourite away ground, which he revealed was Barcelona’s Camp Nou, and the best dressing room character before he named his former United teammate Zlatan Ibrahimović.

“He’s just himself no matter where he goes,” explained Rashford.

It must be said that Rashford said this ahead of the 2023/24 campaign after Manchester City had just won a historic treble, clinching the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League just months earlier.

One of the key players during the campaign, and over the past decade for that matter, is Kevin De Bruyne.

Rashford named the Belgian as the league’s best player over the last “four or five years”.

“Best player in the Premier League right now?” Rashford said.

“Last season [2022/23], it was definitely Haaland, but I think over the last four or five years, De Bruyne 100%.”

And despite the obvious rivalry between United and Pep Guardiola’s side, the England international even went a step further and praised another then-City man when naming his Kyle Walker – on loan at AC Milan – as his toughest-ever opponent.

“His physical capabilities are just unbelievable,” Rashford said.

“It’s always going to be a tough day [against him].

“You have to try and catch him off guard or get him in the wrong positions, but even then, he can recover. It’s always a difficult game against him.

“I just try and drift into places where he can’t drift, or where he has to pass me on into. And when he does pass me on, I just pull back a little bit, away from the defensive midfielder or wherever it is.”

The 27-year-old also explained how he favoured playing on the left-wing despite being used as a central striker at times.

Jhon Duran snubbed new Al Nassr teammate Cristiano Ronaldo when it came to choosing his footballing idol as he revealed his selection.

The 21-year-old Colombia international recently departed Aston Villa in the January transfer window for the Saudi Pro League side for a reported £64 million plus add-ons.

Duran joined Villa in January 2023 from Chicago Fire for an initial reported £14.75 million and went on to score 20 goals in 78 games for the Villa Park side, meaning Unai Emery’s side have made a healthy profit on the forward.

Now he has moved to Al Nassr, Duran has linked up with Ronaldo.

Duran made his debut for the Saudi side in the 4-0 victory against UAE Pro League team Al Wasl in the AFC Champions League earlier this week, with his club forced to release a statement about his rumoured decision to live in Bahrain and commute to Riyadh in the wake of his first appearance.

Ronaldo has been at Al Nassr since 2023, after his departure for the second time from Manchester United following a fallout with then boss Erik ten Hag and his deal at Old Trafford being terminated.

Ronaldo recently turned 40 and has scored 87 goals in 95 games across all competitions for Al Nassr as the Portuguese shows no sign of letting up despite the recent landmark age in his life.

He also has 217 caps and counting for Portugal, having found the back of the net on 135 occasions for his country.

Now Duran is seeing Ronaldo first-hand on a daily basis through training and playing games with the Portuguese, it might be imagined the Colombian international would opt for his new teammate when it comes to selecting his football idol.

But Duran has instead chosen Swedish legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the legendary player he looks up to most and has explained the reasons behind his decision.

As per Footboom, Duran said: “I love him for his personality, his self-confidence, his goal-scoring ability, and his temperament on the pitch.

“He always said: ‘Why be like everyone else when you can be different?’.

“So, I really appreciate the way he approaches football and life, and I admire that example.”

Like Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic also played into his forties and only retired in the summer of 2023 after a third spell at AC Milan.

Ibrahimovic also played for Malmo, Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and LA Galaxy in his playing career.

The striker also scored 62 goals in 122 caps for Sweden, and is now a senior adviser to one of his former clubs AC Milan after hanging up his boots.